The Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority has extended the deadline for land registration from June 30, to December 30 this year, as so far 86 percent of total plots of land have been registered since 2009. According to Esperence Mukamana, the Director-General of the authority, the change was mainly a result of restricted movements amid COVID-19. “Many people have land in provinces where they do not live, and some landowners are even currently outside the country. Considering that cross-province and cross-border movements were restricted amid COVID-19, we chose to extend the deadline to facilitate everyone who has not yet registered his or her land,” she told The New Times on Tuesday, May 12. Since March 21 when the Government introduced COVID-19 lockdown to date, citizens are not allowed to cross borders or move between Kigali and provinces or from one province to another in bid to curb the spread of this pandemic. According to the authority, so far 9,965,648 plots of land have been registered since 2009 when the land registration exercise began, and remaining ones without registration equal to 1,561,201 country-wide. The Authority had in January reiterated that if anyone fails to meet the deadline of land registration, the government will take over the ownership of that land. However, according to Rwanda Management and Use Authority, the rightful owners can still repossess their property after presenting evidence of ownership. Article 20 of the law governing land in Rwanda which was enacted in June 2013 states that owners are mandated to register their respective land. The exercise intends to reduce land-related conflicts in the country, especially in rural areas, which has been among others caused by not having land titles. Land registration also ensures accountability vis-a-vis paying property tax, which is used by districts to meet performance contracts and action plans. In the fiscal year 2019/2020, the government collected Rwf 60.6 billion district revenue and the target is to collect Rwf67.8 billion district revenue, after collecting Rwf60.6 billion last year, according to Rwanda Revenue Authority.
